Field
This application relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to systems and methods for multicasting data using Personal Area Network (PAN) wireless technology.
Background
Bluetooth is a type of wireless technology usually used for exchanging data between devices over short distances such as in a personal area network (PAN). The PAN or body area networks in the Bluetooth standard may be defined by devices that have “paired” with each other and are therefore able to exchange data. Pairing is a process by which devices register with each other, including under user control. Once paired, devices typically can communicate with each other whenever they are within range and active without re-performing the pairing process.
Bluetooth devices may be limited as to the number of devices they can pair with, and therefore are limited as to the number of devices that a single Bluetooth device can send data to at a given time. Further, Bluetooth communications can include significant overhead for security and robustness, including the use of acknowledgments (ACKs and NAKs) sent by a party receiving data to the sender of the data to ensure receipt of the data.
In some cases it may be beneficial to use Bluetooth wireless technologies to send data, i.e., multicast, to a plurality devices, such as due to the power efficiency of Bluetooth wireless technologies. However, due to the limits of Bluetooth discussed above, such multicasting using Bluetooth wireless technologies is not directly supported in the Bluetooth standard. Therefore, new systems and methods are needed that support such multicasting.